The Madras High Court has stated that a bank employee terminated from service is entitled to have back wages till the inquiry report is submitted to him. “Till the inquiry report is submitted to the petitioner, he would be entitled to have back wages irrespective of the report,” the court said in its interim order recently.

A division bench comprising justices Huluvadi G. Ramesh and V. Parthiban was hearing a petition filed by S Palaninathan of Varagur Village, Namakkal District. The petitioner sought quashing of the termination order dated November 8, 2013 passed by the Regional Manager, Central Bank of India, Tiruchirappalli and his reinstatement with all consequential benefits.

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The petitioner was appointed as a clerk on November 1, 1983 after being selected through banking service recruitment board under the Scheduled Tribes Quota.

On a complaint from third party, the bank had referred his community certificate for verification to the District Collector who in turn cancelled it. Even the District Level Vigilance Committee had also passed an adverse order which was challenged by way of a writ petition by him.

The High Court had directed a three-member District Vigilance Committee to go through the order of the District Collector which later cancelled the certificate.

Meanwhile, the petitioner filed a petition seeking a direction to restrain the bank from either suspending or terminating him till the State Level Caste Scrutiny Committee passes final order on the subject.

The court allowed the plea challenging the order of District Level Vigilance Committee and subsequently directed the State Level Caste Scrutiny Committee to consider the genuineness of the certificate, which was later cancelled.

The grievance of the petitioner in the present petition was that even before the order passed by the State Level Committee was served on him, the termination order was affixed on the door of his residence on November 8,2013 when he was on medical leave.

The petitioner alleged that his service was terminated in a malafide manner by affixing the termination order on the door of his residence even before the report of the Committee was served on him. He prayed the court to quash the termination order and to re-instate him with all consequential benefits.